For Tyson Fury co-trainer Andy Lee, the WBC heavyweight champion can go down as one of the greatest fighters who ever laced up a pair of gloves in the sport’s glamour division.

Lee believes Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), who is coming fresh off a resounding victory over Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) in February, is on a path to surpass some of the best boxers in history.

“Tyson will reign as long as he wants to. He’s talked about retiring in two fights, and I can see that happening. I can see him fulfilling that. If he beats Wilder again and Anthony Joshua, he’s the greatest heavyweight of all time,” Lee told BoxingScene.com in an interview. “Now it’s only his desire with how long he wants to fight. This era of heavyweights, they are all very dangerous. The heavyweight division and the top 15 is as great as it’s been since Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ken Norton, Ron Lyle and Jerry Quarry.”

Lee (35-3-1 24 KOs), a former middleweight titleholder who retired in 2017, said Fury’s conquering of Wilder has been more satisfying for the fighter than when he unanimously decisioned Wladimir Klitschko, the longest reigning heavyweight champion in history in 2015.

“He didn’t get the recognition for beating Klitschko,” said Lee. “I think it demoralized him and he rejected boxing. This time, though, he has gotten the adoration. He’s in a much better place [mentally and emotionally]. He’s in good spirits and he’s better prepared now to handle it. Training for him is the key. Keeping in shape physically will help with him mentally. His level of fame is as big as it’s ever been. He’s one of the biggest athletes in the world.”

The staging of the Fury and Wilder trilogy has become a complicated process due to Covid-19. The initial plan was for the fight to be held in Las Vegas on July 18, but that date was scrapped soon after it was announced because of coronavirus. A working date of Oct. 3 was penciled in as well, but Fury co-promoter Top Rank has moved on from that date, too.

Bob Arum told BoxingScene.com that he doesn’t envision the fight to take place in the United States or United Kingdom any more because they can not pass on the sizable gate the fight would generate if it were to be held without fans.

The last fight at the MGM Grand netted nearly $17 million with ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing heavyweight fight of all time in Nevada history.

Arum also told BoxingScene.com that the third fight could be delayed till 2021.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com.